So, ya'll might know that we have a few dogs (today we have 4 large breed, 1 medium breed, and 3 puppies) and so one can imagine we go through a lot of dog food, about 50 lbs every other week, not to mention the random things D decides to feed them because he doesn't want to eat it. We are currently seeking homes for 3 adults dogs and 3 puppies (the puppies, cause well, they are weaned, it is time for them to find new homes, and the adult dogs for various reasons, 1 was only meant to be temporary, one is hating country living and wants to be a city girl again, and one was acquired to be a guard dog and instead kills the animals she is meant to be guarding). None the less, right now we have 8 dogs, and we feed all 8 dogs store bought dog food so with payday a few days away when John points out we are out of dog food i figured 'why not finally try those home made recipes I found a couple months ago' and so last night I did, and I have to be honest, at first I was excited, it was easy and it actually smelled delicious and other than the oven being on for over an hour to cook it I thought 'this isn't so bad' but then we pulled it out of the oven, cut it up, and that was when reality hit....it took over an hour, the house was about 100 degrees, every baking dish I had was dirty, measuring cups everywhere, not to mention the bowls I had to use to mix it all up which took almost all of this morning to clean (I still have one more load to go) and it only made 5lbs of dog food--did I mention one of our dogs is a St Bernard/Great Pyrenees mix?
I tried to stay positive, I decided to make another batch, at which point my loving husband points out 'honey what is for dinner? ' pointing out that dinner time was over an hour ago--and instead of baking our dinner I am baking dog food, yes, he felt loved and appreciated knowing that the dogs food was more important than his food, even more so when he ended up cooking cause I was too busy cooking the dogs dinner. I have to report, that was at 6:30--at 9:30 I was still trying to bake it in the oven cause it was too moist because I did a double batch, the house was super hot and I realized that as much as I love to home make items cause it makes me feel like I am doing my part, home made dog food was not the way to go. I confess, if we had 1 normal sized dog it would have worked, but to go thru that nightly is not my idea of useful, not to mention that last night I was able to use items we had left over, like I used turkey broth I froze after making thank giving dinner, we don't eat a full size turkey every week, so eventually we would run out of home made broth and have to start buying it, and I didn't do the math, but trust me, spending $20 for a $50 bag was definitely looking like a serious bargain and I washed all the dishes I had to clean up afterwards.
All in all though, the dogs loved it, even our pickiest eater, and so, I guess, when we have the supplies or another 'we won't have the money till Friday' moment, the home made dog food will be a special treat, but only that, a treat, at least at our house.
So, I am curious to know, what have you done recently with the intent to save money only to figure out you ended up spending more in the long run?
Also, if anybody does know of a cost saving dog food recipe that is easy, quick, and will save us money please feel free to share it, I would love to give it a try
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